Ok OK Ė Iíve been asked for some thoughts on the game so far. Here we go.

Iím still very early into the game (only about 12hrs Ė Iíve accomplished NOTHING!) but Iím back in Wasteland bliss. The enviroments still look as bleak, gritty and dirty as always (especially taking place in the Mojave Desert) yet still beautiful. I really donít want to say too much to anyone but I will say that as of this moment, the player assumes the role of a Courier who gets shot and left for dead for one reason or another and you set out to find out who shot you and why.

For anyone wondering if this game is as big as Fallout 3, I can say with 100% certainty that it isÖmaybe even bigger. The gameplay is exactly the way it was before with some tweaks. One major change is the ability to play through ďHardcore ModeĒ which is offered once the user creates the player. Hardcore mode is crazy. Now Ammo carries weight, your player must stay hydrated, fed and rested otherwise, he/she will die or suffer serious consequences. I opted to play normally for my first kick at the can.

Another interesting change is the use of factions. Scattered throughout the Mojave Wasteland are factions of people whe the player can align themselves with or against. This will seriously impact where you can and canít go without fear for retribution by said faction as well as the options and quests that open or close on you. Further to that, each faction has their own uniquie look and clothing style.

This also affects how different factions react to your pressence. So now with this knowledge, youíll have to really pick and choose your fights and what armor/outfits you keep handy because they do carry weight as any armor will.

There are even a slew of different creatures and enemies to encounter and fight in the wastelands though Iím sure I havenít seen all of them yet.

All in all Obsidian and Bethesda have done an amazing job. This is a sequel truely worthy of the Fallout brand. Expect a full review sometime on Tuesday. With only 2 more days to wait, Iím sure some of you are losing sleep with anticipation but rest well Ė Youíll need it for the long hours youíre sure to spend on this title.

The latest OXM has hit the stands and, just like PSM3 and PCGamer, they have an "exclusive" "world premier" of Fallout: New Vegas. Here are the details (scans after the jump):

•The Brotherhood of Steel is back, but the core story revolves around the NCR and Caesar's Legion.
•SPECIAL now has descriptions - eg CHA 10 = Cult Leader, EN 1 = Basically Dead.
•Those descriptions for Strength: 10 - Hercules' Bigger Cousin 9 - Doomsday Pecs 8 - Circus Strongman 7 - Beach Bully 6 - Barrel Chested 5 - Average Joe 4 - Lightweight 3 - Doughy Baby 2 - Beached Jellyfish 1 - Wet Noodle
•You get a Vault 21 jumpsuit from the doc who revives you, along with a pistol and a Pip Boy 3000.
•Weapons can be modified, but modifications only have positive results. The magazine implies you won't need to make a choice between different mods, because they won't be mutually exclusive.
•And a little later the magazine contradicts itself by writing that adding a larger magazine increases reload times.
•Every weapon has a special attack, not just the golf club. It seems that Fore! does not mean groin shots are back for every weapon.
•Guns have different knockback amounts, pistols don't do much, shotguns blast people away.
•There's a town-specific reputation, and Obsidian has 'hinted' that the reputation will impact endings.
•Karma has been overhauled, tracking the factions and ideologies that you agree with.
•Nightkin are back, as blue-skinned Super Mutants who've gone schizophrenic through Stealth Boy use. They attack you while cloaked, deactivating cloak at the last minute to hit you with a club.
•The Tabitha situation can also be resolved by convincing Tabitha to revolt against the other Super Mutants.
•Helios One is not only a power plant, but also the location of the controls of a solar weapon developed by Poseidon Energy which you can employ yourself.
•You can now choose the main character's age.

How dare they release this during football season. I cannot be slave to two masters.

__________________My name is Clay. I am a clueless moron when it comes to evaluating football talent. I thought that Pat Mahomes was unworthy of being drafted in the first round, also, I wanted Geno Smith first overall. I also claimed that tyreek hill was undeserving of even being in the CFL. I am wrong 20x more than I'm right and I will troll this site with my uneducated football takes.

No vehicles, Buck. They tried a horse in Oblivion and it was completely useless.

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If you've already spent hundreds of hours combing the wastelands of Washington D.C., Pittsburgh and Anchorage, Alaska in Fallout 3, what might convince you to revisit the post-nuclear version of Sin City in Fallout: New Vegas?

Developer Obsidian Entertainment is taking over for Bethesda Softworks for the follow-up to Fallout 3, set three years after the events of that game and thousands of miles westward, featuring an all-new cast of characters. What does Fallout: New Vegas have to offer the Vault dwelling veteran?

Specifically, for the serious Fallout fan, New Vegas introduces a Hardcore option from the get-go, allowing them to bypass early tutorials and live a more difficult post-nuclear life. Players opting to go hardcore will have to stave off hunger and dehydration, and will be required to visit doctors for more serious injuries. Hardcore also more harshly limits the amount of ammo one can carry, applying weight to bullets. Stimpacks won't heal instantly, but will heal over time.

Players can choose whether they want to go Hardcore during the game's opening, which doesn't begin in a Vault, but at the offices of New Vegas' medicine man Doc Mitchell. He'll patch you right up after your whole "I've got a bullet in my head" ordeal that starts off the next Fallout. Yes, finding out who was trying to blow your brains clean out and why they left you for dead will play some part in the story of Fallout: New Vegas.

Doc Mitchell will fix your face up the way you like and, through a series of tests, help you determine your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. abilities (Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, Luck). He'll set you up with a Pip Boy 3000 and get you on your way.

Obsidian's new take on Fallout introduces a few other changes, starting with the Companion Wheel. The pop-up radial menu lets players control their allies in battle, issuing simple command behaviors to AI-controlled compatriots.

The VATS combat system has also been tweaked, allowing for melee attack commands. Just don't expect a massive difference in the way the successful targeting system worked in Fallout 3. But do expect a greater variety of weapons, thanks to new weapon mods that let players customize their firearms with larger clips, scopes and specialized ammo. More outlandish weapons like the grenade machine gun and golf club will also add a little variety to your post-nuclear excursions.

During your journey across the desert lands of Fallout: New Vegas, you'll have to deal with the various factions who claim ownership of certain territories, like the New California Republic, the Brotherhood of Steel and Caesar's Legion. The notoriety system complements the karma system of Fallout 3. Depending on the actions you take—who you kill and who you befriend—various groups will either want you dead, want to be your best bud or attempt to pay tribute to your character.

We'll have extended impressions of Fallout: New Vegas early next week, from the outskirts at Primm to details on what awaits you on The Strip, so keep an eye peeled for further details. If you have any specific questions you want answered, let us know.

The horse in oblivion was useless? Hell no. Got me where I wanted to go faster and helped me escape some sticky situations, too. There was a great mod to make it gallop faster, too.

Plus it was fun when it died going down to steep a hill and I had to resurrect it.

__________________My name is Clay. I am a clueless moron when it comes to evaluating football talent. I thought that Pat Mahomes was unworthy of being drafted in the first round, also, I wanted Geno Smith first overall. I also claimed that tyreek hill was undeserving of even being in the CFL. I am wrong 20x more than I'm right and I will troll this site with my uneducated football takes.

Sort of. Broadly-speaking, Borderlands is an FPS with RPG elements, Fallout 3 is an RPG with shooter elements. There's no comparison story-wise, however.

Yeah, it's like comparing Mario Kart with Gran Turismo.

__________________
ZootedGranny:

"That's the reason my FFL team name is TrentGreenLeadBlock. When you see this mother****er coming around the corner on a block, put your children to bed and batten down the hatch on your girl's snatch, because the same power that destroys defenders can scar the minds of the youth and simultaneously impregnate any woman within sight, live or on television."